Sorcery: Ethical Spells

Sorcery: Ethical Spells

GURPS Thaumatology adds several ethical spells for settings where magic interacts with ethical categories. Exclude (Ethical Category) works like a specialized Pentagram. Loyalty of (Ethical Category) charms the subject. Repel (Ethical Category) creates a zone of repulsion. Seek (Ethical Category) detect manifestations of ethics. I don't know why most of the tables look messed up when I paste them here, but I can't do anything about it, sorry.

    

Exclude (Ethical Category)

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 203 points for level 1 + 25 points/additional level (or more).

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 30 minutes.

The sorcerer conjures a translucent dome that repels (or at least slows) all attacks (both mundane and magical) made by beings of a specific ethical alignment (evil, chaos, good, order, etc.), contains such beings inside, even if they are insubstantial. Any being of the specified ethical alignment wishing to cross the barrier may try to force its way through it as a free action (one attempt per turn): the creature rolls thrust damage and if this overcomes the spell’s DR, it gets through. This does not dispel the spell, which simply seals closed behind the creature. Slams and collisions with the spell inflict their usual damage for the purpose of breaking through, but the collider takes no damage, as the barrier absorbs kinetic force.

Spells can be cast within the dome, but no spell, except for the summoning ones, can cross its barrier in either direction. Jet and Missile spells that hit the dome simply dissipate rather than contesting its DR.

This spell must be cast on a star-shaped figure drawn on the floor or ground. If part of the pentagram is cut or erased, its power will be lost until the caster can rejoin the pentagram – all this requires is a piece of chalk and time (usually just a second) to draw the line.

By default, Exclude (Ethical Category) provides DR 10. However, more potent versions are available that multiply DR and full cost by the same amount:

DR	Full Cost
10	203 points for level 1 + 25 points/additional level
20	363 points for level 1 + 50 points/additional level
30	523 points for level 1 + 75 points/additional level
50	843 points for level 1 + 125 points/additional level
100	1686 points for level 1 + 250 points/additional level

Statistics: Damage Resistance 10 (Accessibility, Must be cast on a pentagram, -40%; Affects Insubstantial, +20%; Affects Others, +50%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Extended Duration, 300x, +100%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Ethical Category, -40%; Ranged, +40%; Persistent, +40%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%; Visible, -10%) [160] + Rules Exemption (Magical abilities can coexist with anti-magical Static) [1] + Static (Magic; Accessibility, Ethical Category, -40%; Accessibility, Must be cast on a pentagram, -40%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +100%; Only around the border of the area, -0%; Ranged, +40%; Magical, -10%; Visible, -10%) [42]. Additional levels increase Area Effect (+50%) [+25 and +15]. More powerful versions leave Rules Exemption and Static as is but multiply DR and the cost of DR by 2, 3, 5, or 10. As a special effect, this forms a hemispherical dome, not a cylinder.

Loyalty of (Ethical Category)

Keywords: Resisted (Will).

Full Cost: 10 points.

Casting Roll: IQ. Use IQ (again) or Brainwashing to add the disadvantage.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: 10 months.

You can temporarily make the subject, who must be a being of a specific ethical category (evil, chaos, good, law, etc.) your loyal friend, adding him the Sense of Duty (Caster) (see p. B153) disadvantage. If the subject is willing, no resistance roll is needed. If not, he resists with Will and must be completely immobilized or otherwise under your control while you cast the spell. Successful casting gets you inside of his head. You must then win a second Quick Contest of IQ vs. Will – or make another unopposed IQ roll, for a willing subject. You may substitute Brainwashing for IQ, if better.

Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Only against beings of a specific ethical alignment, -40%; Accessibility, Only to add Sense of Duty (Caster), -50%; Conditioning Only, -50%; Extended Duration, 100x, +80%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Sorcery, -15%) [10].

Repel (Ethical Category)

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 42 points for level 1 + 12.5 points/additional level* (or more).

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 30 seconds.

You can create a zone of repulsion that repels creatures of a particular ethical category (evil, chaos, good, order, etc.) anywhere within 100 yards of you. To place the zone at a distance, use Innate Attack (Gaze), with normal range penalties, but at +4 for affecting an area. An intangible force moves objects within the area without touching them. The force can move any being of the chosen ethical category it has strength enough to lift, at a Move equal to your Repel ST, modified as usual for encumbrance level (see Encumbrance and Move, p. B17).

Repel (Ethical Category) can only move things directly from its center. It takes a Ready maneuver to move an unresisting object, or an Attack maneuver to affect an active opponent. Repel (Ethical Category) can’t strike blows, manipulate objects, or hold an enemy in place or prevent him from attacking. It simply causes objects to move until they’re in contact with the border of the spell’s area, whereupon they are free to move or they’re held there against a hard obstacle with Repel’s telekinetic ST until the duration runs out. Objects can only move or be moved in the opposite direction if the mover wins a Quick Contest of his ST or TK level against your Repel ST.

The basic (42-point) version of this spell lets you affect an area up to 2 yards across and has ST 5. Each additional doubling of area adds 12.5 to basic cost; the GM sets the cap on this increase, but 128 yards is the recommended maximum. For an additional +100% to cost (including any increased area), rounded up, the ST can be upgraded to 10 or more. This is summarized in the table below.

Repel ST	2 yards	4 yards	8 yards	16 yards	32 yards	64 yards	128 yards
5	42 points	54 points	67 points	79 points	92 points	104 points	117 points
10	83 points	108 points	133 points	158 points	183 points	208 points	233 points
15	124 points	162 points	199 points	237 points	274 points	312 points	349 points
20	165 points	215 points	265 points	315 points	365 points	415 points	465 points

Statistics: Telekinesis 5 (Accessibility, Ethical Category, -40%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Extended Duration on Persistent, 3x, +20%; Increased Range, 10x, +30%; Independent, +40%; Persistent, +40%; Repulsion, -60%; Sorcery, -15%) [42]. Additional levels add more Area Effect (+50%) to the advantage [+12.5*].

* Calculate the total cost, then round down.

  

Seek (Ethical Category)

Keywords: Information.

Full Cost: 21 points or 31 points.

Casting Roll: Per. Use IQ for analysis.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

After casting, the GM rolls against the sorcerer’s Per, with a penalty based on the distance to the nearest significant manifestation of an ethical category (evil, chaos, good, order, etc.). The basic (21-point) version of this spell takes standard range penalties. The improved (31-point) one uses long-distance modifiers. If successful, the caster knows the exact distance and direction to the manifestation of an ethical category, and may make a follow-up IQ roll (at no penalty) to learn basic details about it (e.g., “it’s an evil being” or “it’s a golem possessed by a demonic spirit”).

Any known manifestations of ethical categories may be excluded if the caster mentions them before casting.

Statistics: Detect Ethical Category (Precise, +100%; Selective Effect, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [21]. The improved version adds Long-Range 1 (+50%) [+10].